Conventional nut drivers include a handle, a shank extending from the handle and a nut-receiving socket on the shank. The nut driver is typically used to thread and tighten a nut on a bolt by inserting the nut in the socket and rotating the socket against the end of a threaded shank of a bolt to initially thread and then tighten the nut on the bolt shank. Alternatively, the nut driver may be used to hold the nut in place as a wrench or the like is used to drive a bolt through the nut. The handle of the nut driver may be color-coded to aid in the selection of a nut having a size which corresponds to the size of the nut driver socket. For example, a standard or conventional color-coding scheme for a set of nut drivers each having a shank length of 3 inches includes nut drivers having a black handle, a red handle, a yellow handle, a green handle, a blue handle, a brown handle and a red handle, respectively. The sockets of the nut drivers are sized to receive nuts having widths of 3/16, ¼, 5/16, 11/32″, ⅜″, 7/16″ and ½, respectively. Therefore, in the event that a nut having a width of 3/16″ is necessary for a particular application, a socket driver having a black handle is selected to thread and tighten the nut on a bolt. A separate color-coding scheme for a set of nut drivers with socket sizes expressed in metric units is available.
One of the limitations of the conventional color-coded handle scheme for matching a nut driver having a particular size with a nut of corresponding size is that the nuts with which the nut drivers are matched are not color-coded. This may necessitate much trial-and-error the event that a mixture of nuts having various sizes is available and each nut must be individually and randomly placed in the socket of a particular nut driver to determine whether the nut fits the nut driver. Before servicing or repairing major appliances such as ranges, washers, and dryers, the rear hack cover plates of such appliances must be removed. Typically, two, three or more different size drivers are required to remove such back cover plates. Thus, a need remains for an improved driver that can be easily positioned on exposed bold head to help select the correct size driver. Accordingly, it is a principle objective of this invention to provide such a driver.